Ken Rosenthal's latest missive states that the Jays players are close to mutiny over their treatment and the managing of Cito Gaston. The Star has also jumped in with a similar story citing the Canadian Press. Jeff Blair also talked about this a few weeks ago. This adds to the turmoil surrounding the Blue Jays with the lack of a permanent president, rumours that the GM will be fired and now whether the manager should stay. It's a modern War and Peace.
Rosenthal states:
The players are fed up with Gaston and do not want him to return next season, according to multiple major-league sources. "It's nearly a mutiny right now," one source says. "He has lost the entire team."
However the details seem a bit harsh.
Certain Jays veterans bristle over reduced playing time and Gaston's failure to properly communicate substitutions, sources say. Younger players require more positive reinforcement than Gaston provides, according to another source.
Really? What veterans have legitime gripes over playing time? Lyle Overbay might feel he has a legitimate gripe but who else?
What about the great success of Adam Lind and Ricky Romero, even Travis Snider looks like he is coming around.
The Star adds:
One player told CP there was simply "constant negativity" coming from the manager's office. Another noted that Gaston once said "there aren't any good players in here."
I could see that one, the old crusty manager complaining about the youths of today.
So what to make of all this? I don't think the Jays will fire Cito, he may decide to go if the GM is changed but maybe this team needs some tough love. Why was Cito so great in 2008 and not so much in 2009? Was Cito negative in May before the team started their skid? I think this is overblown and comes from a disappoitning season. It is not that Cito doesn't have his faults, all managers do. Are they major enough to be fired?
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20091002092954243